tfdeputydawg wrote:F4 Customs.
FYI, Optic Armor used to be a supplier to F4. They were dropped for quality issues.

Not entirely true. The reason Optic Armor was dropped as a supplier by F4 varies depending on who you talk to - Optic Armor or F4.

Optic Armor retains the patent on the coating used on the old F4 windshields, so the windshields you can buy NOW from Optic Armor are the "old" F4 windshields. F4 had to find a new supplier (they now use Five Star) who uses a different coating formulation. Word on the street is that the new F4 coating is not as good as the old Optic Armor coating - so this, coupled with the fact that the Optic Armor windshields are $100 cheaper than the new F4 windshields, mean given the choice of the two I would go with an Optic Armor product.

tfdeputydawg wrote:F4 Customs.
FYI, Optic Armor used to be a supplier to F4. They were dropped for quality issues.

Not entirely true. The reason Optic Armor was dropped as a supplier by F4 varies depending on who you talk to - Optic Armor or F4.

Optic Armor retains the patent on the coating used on the old F4 windshields, so the windshields you can buy NOW from Optic Armor are the "old" F4 windshields. F4 had to find a new supplier (they now use Five Star) who uses a different coating formulation. Word on the street is that the new F4 coating is not as good as the old Optic Armor coating - so this, coupled with the fact that the Optic Armor windshields are $100 cheaper than the new F4 windshields, mean given the choice of the two I would go with an Optic Armor product.

YEP, we've had this discussion before.
1. I tend to believe the manufacturer that dropped the supplier, rather than the supplier trying to excuse being dropped.
2. Not sure where the patent info you have came from but, in my corporate experience(40yrs w/GM), patents are the property of the company marketing a product, not the supplier!
3. This is the first I've heard of the "word on the street" and would debate that word!
4. If there were no quality issues or any other issues why would a company seek other suppliers to start with?
Good to know there is still a board that one can debate things on in a civil manner. Have agreat day!

Ok, I waited to replace my windshield until a couple of weeks ago. Right or wrong I opted for the F4. Now I've got an interesting squeak. It's between the windshield and the rubber boot, right in the middle. I can stop it with one finger on top of the windshield but that gets awkward after a few miles. I've cleaned the rubber boot. The local Honda service manager suggested using Honda Spray Cleaner & Polish. I had already tried that but it only made it worse. Everything is tight. I've thought of using a thin felt pad but it's got to be quite thin so parts go back together. Ideas, suggestion?

johngrim wrote:Ok, I waited to replace my windshield until a couple of weeks ago. Right or wrong I opted for the F4. Now I've got an interesting squeak. It's between the windshield and the rubber boot, right in the middle. I can stop it with one finger on top of the windshield but that gets awkward after a few miles. I've cleaned the rubber boot. The local Honda service manager suggested using Honda Spray Cleaner & Polish. I had already tried that but it only made it worse. Everything is tight. I've thought of using a thin felt pad but it's got to be quite thin so parts go back together. Ideas, suggestion?

F4 instructs you to remove all of the mastic on the fairing and replace it with supplied soft side velcro strip. Did you do this????

The first windshield I was sent was marked for a GL1500 as well as the packing slip. Upon opening the box it was immediately clear it was for a GL1800. It did include those Velcro strips. A quick exchange after a call to Cycle Max, the correct windshield showed up. There are no strips that get installed with the 1500's windshield.

In response to NVSB4, I just replaced a tinted Tulsa Tall (Ex-Tall?) windshield that was tinted and I had to look through it. I bought this bike a little over 4 years ago and the screen was pretty scratched up. I put up with until this summer. I went with a clear one. I didn't like the tinted because of night riding (or day riding come to think of it). Looking through glasses, sometimes a helmet shield, then a tinted windshield and everything changed colors. Really changed colors. Night riding oncoming traffic lights turned purple or green. Odd. I'm pretty glad I replaced with the clear. If I need tinting I'll use the tinted shield of my Shoei Neotec or sunglasses.

johngrim wrote:In response to NVSB4, I just replaced a tinted Tulsa Tall (Ex-Tall?) windshield that was tinted and I had to look through it. I bought this bike a little over 4 years ago and the screen was pretty scratched up. I put up with until this summer. I went with a clear one. I didn't like the tinted because of night riding (or day riding come to think of it). Looking through glasses, sometimes a helmet shield, then a tinted windshield and everything changed colors. Really changed colors. Night riding oncoming traffic lights turned purple or green. Odd. I'm pretty glad I replaced with the clear. If I need tinting I'll use the tinted shield of my Shoei Neotec or sunglasses.

Odd colors like you're describing is not from the tinting, it is from polarization. Glasses, and particularly sunglasses are polarized. Looking through plexiglas with polarized lenses creates all kinds of artificial rainbow effects. Similarly, looking through two layers of plexiglas often creates the same rainbow interference effects.